How to Prevent Mold From Growing and Spreading on Your Property

6/18/2021 (Permalink)

Mold can grow almost anywhere on your property. You may not even realize your have a mold problem right away. Call now for fast mold removal service.

Mold is a serious problem that can quickly get out of hand. Therefore, you will want to do all you can to prevent mold from growing and spreading on your property. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done; mold can be tricky to deal with! But it is in your best interests to address a mold problem before it worsens.

To help you eliminate mold from your property, we have prepared this short guide on finding and dealing with the beginnings of an infestation. Keep reading to learn more!

What Are the Elements Involved in Mold Growth?

To combat mold, we first must talk about the elements involved in mold growth. What makes mold difficult to deal with is that it can thrive nearly anywhere in a building. This is because all mold needs to grow is oxygen, humidity, a food source, and darkness. With moisture from a plumbing leak or a build up of storm water, mold may develop, and quickly. We know it's pretty dry in Los Angeles, but mold doesn't require much moisture to survive.

Another thing that makes mold difficult to manage is that it can be hard to spot. In fact, smaller mold spores may look like dirt or soot. This is why people may ignore it until their mold problem starts to progress into something more serious.

How Does Mold Spread?

Some people assume that mold sticks to the spot where it’s found. This isn’t the case. If you find mold in your basement or crawl space, the mold spores may rise and spread throughout your building. Warm air rises, providing the mold spores a vehicle to travel and spread to other warm, damp areas, like your bathroom or kitchen.

Likewise, mold spores can also travel through HVAC systems. During an LA heatwave, your central air conditioning is probably on a lot. If you have mold in your attic or around duct work, keeping cool may not be the only outcome from cranking the ac.

Upon discovering water damage or a mold infestation on your property, you will want to deal with it as soon as possible. Mold can colonize and begin to spread to other areas of your property within one to two weeks’ time.

How Do You Stop Mold?

The best way to stop mold is to prevent it from growing in the first place. You can do this by dealing with wet surfaces and material right away. This means checking for leaks and having stagnant water extracted and removed, especially from porous surfaces, like a carpet or wood floors. You will want to do this as soon as possible as mold only takes a day or two to grow.

If you manage to spot an infestation early, it may be possible to remove the visible mold using  vinegar, bleach, or hydrogen peroxide. However, many surfaces where mold resides, like walls or ceilings, are porous, so mold can spread to places that aren't visible to the naked eye. If the smell of mold lingers, or the mold returns after cleaning the surface, you may have a mold problem that requires professional mold remediation.

You can call SERVPRO of North Hollywood to  respond 24/7 to any size disaster. We offer fast water damage cleanup and mold remediation services to both residential and commercial properties. Our trained team responds quickly, in as little as one hour to anywhere in Los Angeles. In short, we'll get you up and running again in no time.

So if you need help with water, fire, or mold cleanup, don't hesitate to call SERVPRO of North Hollywood. You can rest assured that we will clean and restore your property "Like it never even happened."